1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an incrementally-sized dishware system and method for weight management; and more particularly to a dishware system wherein a plurality of incrementally-sized plates having successively decreasing plate surface areas gradually modify food portions consumed for weight management and instill healthy eating habits.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Obesity is becoming an epidemic that affects not only adults but also an increasing number of children. Many people begin a diet abruptly by immediately reducing their caloric and food intake. Oftentimes these dieters become discouraged when their appetite does not readily adjust to the caloric modifications, and they suffer from feelings of hunger and deprivation. Discomfort and discouragement replace the drive to diet. As a consequence, many would be “dieters” quit their diet altogether or go through yo-yo dieting. Family diet techniques become a necessary prerequisite for addressing weight problems that affect parents and their children when unhealthy eating habits become infused in the home. Most diet plans require a great deal of effort and “will-power” to count calories, attend meetings, choose different foods, or measure and control portion sizes.
Experts believe that losing weight slowly is healthier, and that it is important to change eating habits in order to maintain permanent weight loss. Changing eating habits includes not only modifying what an individual is eating, but also altering portion amounts through portion control. Studies show that visual perception influences food consumption. People eat more when given larger portions. Portion control adjustment over a period of time greatly facilitates healthy weight loss, as the individual's behavior towards foods and portions becomes modified. Gradual portion control presented in a discrete manner further facilitates successful dieting and healthy eating habits. With gradual portion control, those dieting (or intending to gain weight, when specific health needs so require) are not constantly reminded of their portion reduction as they are eating; this tends to relieve mental and emotional pressures that often sabotage dieting efforts. Moreover, a discrete gradual portion control device and method can be utilized when dining with guests, without making the user's diet glaringly obvious.
The vast majority of portion control and other dieting devices heretofore disclosed and utilized do not address gradual behavior modifications, and therefore are difficult to utilize over time. That is to say, those dieting devices and methods presently in vogue do not provide gradual portion control devices and discrete behavioral modifications. Instead, the majority of dieting devices and methods provide abrupt, immediate portion adjustments, which result in feelings of deprivation as the dieter's appetite does not so abruptly diminish. These portion control dieting devices generally involve plates or containers having partitioned or compartmentalized assemblies demarcated by a specific food group appointed to be utilized by a user on a daily basis.
For various examples of these compartmentalized assemblies, see the following: U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,119 to Hosking discloses a drinking-beaker assembly including a collar and volumetric structure that is appointed to serve as both a drinking vessel, especially the drinking of water in the course of a diet, and a device for determining the precise amount of liquid consumed; U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,488 to Brenkus et al. discloses a diet method and apparatus which controls the portion size by providing a plate with a plurality of compartments associated with a meal card; U.S. Design Pat. No. D194,054 to Grossman discloses an ornamental design for a plate having three compartments, wherein each of the compartments includes a picture symbol representing the food group which is to be portioned in the respective compartment; U.S. Design Pat. No. D200,867 to Haifley discloses an ornamental design for a plate or dish wherein approximately one-half of the structure includes caloric indicia thereon, which does not appear to be utilized for holding food, while the other half seems to be appointed for holding food; U.S. Design Pat. No. D281,849 to Cantor discloses an ornamental design for a diet plate that utilizes curved rib portions to apparently form food dividers or compartments to separate food items or portions; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0029698 to Watson et al. discloses a food template adapted to be removably applied to a food bearing surface of a food holder, such as a plate to define a plurality of areas for food portions to be placed; Foreign Publication No. GB 2119633 to Mackay discloses a compartmented plate divided into different regions which are marked in a different manner, such as by color coding, to indicate the different types of foods intended to be placed in each region; and “The Diet Plate®—Portion Control Made Easy” found at www.thedietplate.com discloses a weight management system consisting of plates and cereal bowls for a family wherein the plate or cereal bowl includes markings therein to indicate the given food groups and respective portion sizes so that caloric intake is controlled.
For repositionable compartmentalized devices see: U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,295 to Parrish, which discloses a compartmentalized dieting plate having a partitioned assembly that divides the plate to form predetermined fluid capacity compartments, and in which the partition assembly may be repositioned to adjust the compartmentalized capacities as a dieters requirements change; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,743 to Brennan, which discloses a food metering dish including a dish member with a continuous surrounding wall defining an interior cavity having first and second concave recesses for receiving metered containers therewithin, the recesses being appointed with ribs with removable partition walls to form compartments for food portions for controlling amounts served.
These aforementioned compartmentalized plates and containers all share numerous disadvantageous stemming from abrupt changes in a person's diet. A portion conditioning dishware set is not provided. Rather, these compartmentalized dieting plates utilize dividers to form compartments for holding food to be consumed. As the portion amounts are not gradually adjusted, but are rather immediate, the user will quickly feel deprived and suffer from hunger as his or her appetite is not gradually adjusted. Behavior modification is not achieved over a gradual period of time. Moreover, these devices all create a negative emotional impact on the user, as they do not discretely provide portion control mechanism. During a dinner with friends or family it will be highly obvious that the user is on a diet or subject to portion control. Moreover, none of these devices provide the ability to gradually adjust one's food portions through implementation of a dishware set that resembles a typical plate.
Even wherein systems and methods of modifying eating habits of a user are provided, rather than just portion control, these devices fail to provide a plate set that provides incrementally-sized plates which so resemble regular plates, that a dieter (as well as others eating with the dieter) can soon forget he or she is practicing portion modification. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,739 to Matson discloses a system and method for modifying eating habits of a user by providing a set of fixed volume graduated containers that are subdivided into sections and provide a user with means to control the volume of food consumed over time. In a weight loss program, a user is provided with a set of the graduated sectioned containers and migrates from measuring the amount of food per meal with a larger fixed volume container to measuring the amount of food per meal with a smaller fixed volume container. Unfortunately, the sectioned containers cannot feasibly be utilized in a discrete manner on a dinner table during regular meals. This has particular impact when one has dinner guests, and/or when a parent is attempting to gradually, and discretely, modify eating habits of a child. Moreover, meals require constant measuring and compartmentalizing food to be consumed. The dieter is constantly burdened with the task of loading each compartment, and is constantly reminded of his or her diet during eating.
Notwithstanding the efforts of prior art workers to construct an efficient dieting device and method for modifying eating habits, there remains a need in the art for an incrementally-sized dishware system and method that provides gradual food portion reduction, so that a user can modify his/her eating habits for effective weight management without feelings of deprivation. There remains a need in the art for a dishware system that provides a plurality of incrementally-sized plates having successively decreasing plate surface areas appointed to be utilized in a graduated manner over a period of time. Additionally, there is a need in the art for a dishware set that utilizes a plurality of plates having successively decreasing plate surface areas which become decreased by way of small increments to provide subtle changes in portion amounts served, so that a user does not feel deprived and can gradually modify food portions consumed and establish healthy eating habits for effective weight management.